The current model came out less than two months ago. Why would Apple release a new one already? The previous model was in production for a year and a half before they updated it.

^This. The most recent version (gen. 3) is can playback 1080p so at this point, next significant changes are likely not hardware based (i.e. App Store) and could be added via OS updates so I see no reason to get the current model if its features fit your needs.